Fire and Ice
by Kopy.Kunoichi
Summary: He's a cold and calculating warrior. She's as untamed and reckless as a wildfire. But when a series of bizarre mishaps brings them closer, they'll find out just how much Fire and Ice can complement each other. Reviews my friends!
1. Unforeseen Kindness

**K.K: Well, Kanda dear…it's the moment you've been dreading. I have you in my literary clutches now. Mwahahahahaha.**

**Kanda: Che. You honestly think I'm scared of you? **

**K.K.: Oh, if you only knew…**

**Kanda: Whatever, just get on with the story woman.**

**K.K.: Mind your manners…before I throw every Cheap Plot Device in the book at you.**

**Kanda: Go ahead.**

**K.K.: You asked for it. You know, you should be grateful that I saw fit to come up with a girlfriend for you. **

**Kanda: Listen baka – wait…what?**

**K.K.: Oh yeah, disclaimer. Ahem…I don't own D. Gray Man or any of the characters therein…but I do own Ayame – so hands off her.**

**Kanda: Who's Ayame?**

**K.K.: You're woman…now shut up and read the story.**

Fire and Ice

Unforeseen Kindness

Ayame blocked the powerful sword stroke with the blade that ran the length of her right arm, rolling away from the blow. She was barely on her feet before Kanda came at her again pushing her back with a combination of slashes in rapid succession. She was finally able to catch his blade in between the blades on both her arms with a scissor vice grip. She leaned forward till she could feel his hot breath on her face – his cold gray eyes glowing with deadly intent. She had seen this look many times before, usually directed at Akuma or members of the Noah clan…and occasionally at her. She remembered the first time she had seen that look.

Ayame was unsure if who these men were, but she knew one thing – she didn't like the one with the ponytail. Judging from the glare he was fixing on her, he felt the same. The one called General Teidoll was very kind though. When he told her that she had "Innocence" and the capability of fighting monsters, she barely knew what to think. She was an accomplished martial artist, as she had lived in a dojo since she had been orphaned as a child. But martial arts was a far cry from monster-fighting. When Teidoll was explaining more about the Black Order, they were attacked by a band of Akuma. Ayame watched in awe as Kanda drew his own Innocence sworn – Mugen – and slew every single monster with precision and speed.

"_I'm in," she told them._

_Several weeks later, she was trained and ready to go out on missions. Ironically, Kanda was her first partner. And she was pretty sure that bastard Kamui did it on purpose, knowing they didn't like each other. In fact, she didn't think Kanda liked _anybody_. Still, after a few missions together, she had to admit his skill was impressive, and she would do well to pay attention. Together, they made a lethal team. Sure, they hurdled insults at each other, but they had grown to respect one another enough to spare together back at Headquarters. The weeks had gradually turned into months. Ayame had grown close to some of the other members of the Black Order. Lenalee, Lavi, and Alan had become close friends and she felt as though she could trust them all with anything. Still, she had to admit – her favorite pastime was training with that handsome bastard with a perpetually crappy attitude. _

"Are you ready to give up yet?" he taunted.

"Funny…I was about to ask you the same thing."

She shoved against him will all her might and they began their dance anew. Kanda was a ruthless sparing partner. He never cut her, but he'd sent her flying on several occasions. She saw an opening, however small, and took a chance – throwing them both into a dangerous roll with their blades locked between them. It was a risky maneuver, but she was a reckless and unpredictable fighter. Kanda had once commented that she was like fire…consuming anything in her path without fear. She managed to come out on top of the roll and caught Mugen once more between her blades. She bore down on him with all her weight – sitting on his stomach; but she hooked her feet over his thighs in an attempt to keep him from getting his feet under him. Kanda held his sword just above his chest, bracing it with his other hand. His hair had come out of its tie and splayed out over the mats. It had always annoyed her that he wore his hair in a high ponytail – just like hers. In fact, their hairstyles were so similar that they were often teased about it. But she really didn't have time to ponder Kanda's hair, as the man was about two seconds from throwing her off him. Just as she felt his muscles tense beneath her, the door to the training room swung open. Lavi stood in the doorway, greeting by a surprised look from Ayame and a snarl from Kanda. Ayame watched as Lavi's expression warped – his eyes bugging and jaw dropping simultaneously. He slowly backed out of the room, making incomprehensible sounds in his throat.

"Sorry guys, I'll uh…leave ya to it…"

"Lavi, c'mon, this is not what it look like," Ayame shouted.

"Can you see the _weapons _between us, you idiot?" Kanda yelled, but Lavi had already run off, slamming the door behind him.

Ayame felt him tense again, but she mistook it as just plain annoyance at the situation, so she relaxed her muscles and slumped forward in defeat. Mistake. Kanda pushed up suddenly with his whole body, giving him enough room to get his leg under her. His movements were so sudden Ayame didn't even have time to brace herself. His foot contacted her lower stomach with enough force to slam her into the opposite wall. The blade on her left arm stuck in the wall, twisting her shoulder hard. She slumped down to her knees, suspended by one arm, her vision blurring.

Kanda got up slowly, cocking his head a little when he noticed she wasn't moving much. He hadn't meant to kick her so hard – she relaxed at the same moment he had lashed out. She should have felt him tense and put up her guards, but she had relaxed instead. He should have been fast enough to realize she wasn't ready to continue fighting and held back. Cursing under his breath, he quickly closed the distance between them.

"Ayame?" he rarely called her by her first name.

She stirred, wincing at the pain in her wrenched shoulder.

"Don't move…I'll help you," he said, his voice a little softer.

He reached one arm around her, lifting her up slightly as he carefully pried her left arm out of the wall. She slumped forward, her head falling to his shoulder. He carefully let her arm down – feeling around the socket to confirm that it was not broken. He groaned a little at his touch, but he could feel no dislocation.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice muffled by his shoulder. "I shouldn't have let my guard down."

"You're damn right," he paused, not wanting to yell at her. "But I should have been able to pull back when I realized you did. So, I'm…sorry…too."

She chuckled; then had a coughing fit, "I've never heard you apologize for anything Kanda," she commented, as she deactivated her Innocence, the blades melding back into the gauntlets on her forearms.

"Che," was his only reply, but he carefully stood as she leaned on him. "Can you stand?"

"Of course," she said lightly, pulling away from him and promptly stumbling from the pain in her abdomen.

His hand shot out and caught her and she found herself leaning on him again. This was just embarrassing. She sighed, and tried to push away from him to stand up again, but he kept an iron grip around her waist.

"I'll take you to Kamui," he said.

She lifted her head, her expression one of absolute terror, "No Kanda. Please…please just take me to my room. Anything but Kamui!"

Kanda for once sympathized with her. He carefully lifted her in his arms, causing her to blush. It wasn't that she liked him or anything – cause he was a jerk – but it was just awkward and humiliating to have him carry her. He apparently wasn't enjoying this either, because he was scowling worse than ever and he refused to even look at her. He got her to her room in record time without being seen by anyone. Ayame was grateful for that because Lavi certainly didn't need any more ammunition against them. He dropped her gently on the bed, but she couldn't bite back the little hiss of pain at the change in position. She could have sworn a look of concern flashed across his face as he frowned at her. Very carefully, he reached down to place a hand on her stomach, where he'd kicked her. He fixed a narrowed gaze at her face as he gently prodded the area. When she winced, he hazarded to lift up her shirt a little to inspect her injury.

"It's fine," she protested, now more embarrassed than ever.

He said nothing, but ground his teeth when he saw the bright purple bruise beneath her belly button. For a moment, he just stared at it; then closed his eyes. Ayame regarded him thoughtfully – was he remorseful for hurting her? They had always played rough when they spared. In all that time, he had never even looked remotely sorry – not once. Now he looked like he wanted to punch something…well, more than usual. His hand was hovering above her skin still, and she brushed her fingers against his. The tiny touch seemed to snap him out of it, and he turned back to regard her coolly.

"If you're blaming yourself, then don't. I've been sparing with you long enough to know better than to drop my guard just because I'm worried about Lavi running his mouth about us. I felt you tense and I stupidly assumed you were just mad about the same thing."

"I was," he said flatly. "And in my anger I lashed out at you much harder than I should have and _that _is the result of my inability to control my emotions," he snarled.

"Would you knock it off – it's not your fault," she protested, but stopped short when he slammed his fist into the brick wall behind her bed, cracking it.

All she could do was stare at him wide-eyed. He hung his head, his hair falling around his face like a curtain – but she could still see his bared teeth. She had seen him angry many times (hell, it was his most common emotion)…but she had never seen him angry at himself. She tried to sit up and reach him again, but didn't have the strength.

"Kanda," she whispered his name so softly she wondered if he heard her.

But his eyes flickered over to her momentarily, and he reached over to pull her shirt back down and lift the covers up.

"Rest," he commanded, his voice almost soft. "I'll be back later to check on you."

She didn't know what to say to him, his behavior left her speechless. But he was gone before she could rack her brain further. So instead of letting it bother her, she decided to take his advice and rest. She kept thinking about his actions earlier though; they perplexed her so much it made it hard to fall asleep. He was always so cold and distant…_Iceman _she sometimes called him. But as she was drifting off, she thought about how carefully he had held her. Her stomach did a little flip-flop when she caught his scent lingering on her clothes. It was deep and masculine, with traces of something sweet and vaguely familiar. She shook her head, forbidding herself to think of him in any other way than she did before. But as sleep claimed her, her dreams had different ideas.

"Hey…"

Ayame stirred to the sensation of someone shaking her. She slowly opened her eyes, rubbing the sleep from them. Kanda was bending over her, but he wasn't alone. He brought with him the aroma of wonderful noodley goodness. Her stomach gurgled loudly – causing her cheeks to turn pink. She swore she saw the corners of his mouth twitch.

"You're almost as bad as Short Stack," he accused.

"Hey, I haven't eaten since breakfast," she defended.

"I know. Here…" helped her into a sitting position.

He set the tray on her lap, leaving her drink on the stand next to her. She stared at the twin orders of soba and tempura.

"I'm not _that _hungry," she said.

"Good, because that one's mine," he clarified.

"Oh…you're going to eat with me?"

He frowned, "If you'd rather eat alone…"

"No! I mean…it's fine. I'd uh…like that."

His expression shifted – he looked thoughtful. Ayame lifted the tray and crossed her legs, then balanced it back on her knees. She pointed at the bed in front of her with her chin. He hesitated for a moment, then sat across from her, mirroring her posture. He took his soba off the tray, deftly shoving it into his mouth with chopsticks…not a drop was wasted. Ayame couldn't help but stare at him while he ate. He suddenly looked up at her mid-slurp…a whole string of noodles hanging out of his mouth. She almost blew tea out her nose; he looked so funny. He raised one eyebrow; then sucked in the rest of the soba. She couldn't help the little giggle that escaped her lips.

"Is something funny?" he asked, his voice not as gruff as she thought it would be.

"I'm sorry," she said, hiding her smile. "It's just, I never seen you eat soba before."

"I eat soba all the time."

"I know…but I've never _watched _you eat it."

"And?"

"Well, you're kinda cute with noodles hanging out of your mouth."

The words were out before she could stop them. He leveled an intense gaze at her that made her ears burn.

"What I meant was – you know – opposed to how you normally look…not that you're bad looking, cause you're not – but with the noodles…uh-"

He went back to eating noodles as she awkwardly back-peddled, "I get it."

She made herself busy stuffing food in her mouth to prevent anything else from stupidly passing her lips. She hadn't meant it the way it sounded…well, actually she did – but he didn't need to know that. She finished and neatly stacked their dishes on the tray, then set it aside on the nightstand. Kanda shifted so that he was sitting on the edge of her bed. She stretched her legs back out and scooted down so that she was almost lying flat. They talked for a few minutes and Ayame got all the information she had missed from an Exorcist's meeting that night. Kanda had some paperwork that was waiting on him, so he had to leave her.

"I'll check on you in the morning," he promised.

"You know…you don't have to do this just because you feel bad," she said.

"I'm not doing it because I feel bad," he said evenly.

"So…when you say 'morning' – do you mean morning for you or morning for me? Cause if you come in here at five, I'll kick your ass – I don't care how injured I am."

He stifled a smirk, "See you in the morning," he repeated.

"Yeah, yeah. You've been warned. Hey Kanda," she called as he opened the door.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"You're…welcome," he forced the words out awkwardly, and she smiled at his effort.

"Seeya."

And then he was gone and she was alone again with her thoughts. She missed the days when they were just partners on missions and things weren't complicated. She knew it was a bad idea to even consider having feelings for Kanda – that was heartbreak waiting to happen. Still, feelings aren't really something you decide to have – they just happen. She could of course decide not to act on them…it all depended on Kanda really. His kind behavior puzzled her to no end. This wasn't like him. Even if he did regret hurting her, he was far more likely to beat himself up for it than help her get better. Why was he really doing this? She sighed. There was not point in mulling this over further. She would just wait and see what would happen – that's all. An image of him with dripping noodles hanging from his lips flashed before her, causing a smile to play on her lips as she feel asleep.

**K.K: Well, that's it for chapter one. Thoughts?**

**Kanda: I don't slurp.**

**K.K.: Yes you do. And it **_**is **_**cute when you do it.**

**Kanda: I am going to…**

**K.K.: Put that sword down for starters. I'll put you in a naked shower scene if you don't. That's better. **

**Kanda: I hate you.**

**K.K.: You'll thank me when all this is over.**

**Kanda: I'm already thinking up the ways.**

**K.K.: I like anything with chocolate peanut butter.**

**Kanda: Bite me.**

**K.K.: Tempting…but I'll leave that to Ayame. So what'd the rest of ya think? Good? Bad? Reviews…I beg you. **

**Kanda: Tell her it sucks.**

**K.K.: One more word and I'll put you and Ayame in hand cuffs with the key sown into the inner hem of her short-shorts. This worked wonders for getting Vincent Valentine out of his shell and trust me he's got **_**way **_**more issues than you do. **

**Kanda: …**

**K.K.: Thought so.**


	2. Colossal Misunderstanding

**K.K.: You ready for this Sunshine?**

**Kanda: If you call me that one more time…**

**K.K.: You'll turn me into meatloaf, blah blah blah. **

**Kanda: Che.**

**K.K.: Che is for Cuba.**

**Kanda: What?**

**K.K.: Never mind….it's disclaimer time. I own Ayame's soul…but nothing else having to do with D. Gray Man. Luckily, she has a very sweet disposition that rubs off on the other characters. *cough-anda***

**Kanda: You need help.**

**K.K.: Shuttie.**

Fire and Ice

Colossal Misunderstanding

"Ayame…"

She groaned, but hid a smile at the sound of his voice.

"Why are you so early?" she complained, stretching out under the covers.

"It's noon," he stated.

"What?!" she rolled over on her back quickly, trying to sit up.

Kanda held her firmly down with one hand on her shoulder, "Slow down," he warned.

"Kanda, I've got paperwork today and a whole lot of make-up training. I've already lost half the day. I thought you were coming this morning."

He paused, as if considering his words, "I did come this morning, but you looked like you needed more sleep."

"Oh…thank you."

She stretched out her body slowly, carefully rolling her shoulder to test it. It was tender, but it had full range of motion.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"The shoulder's fine. My stomach…" she pulled the blankets down and pressed softly. "Sore, but okay," she finished.

He reached down and brushed his fingers beneath the fringe of her nightshirt, lifting it slightly to look at her bruise. He knitted his brows at the mark, which admittedly looked even worse today. She blushed a little but touched his hand to get his attention.

"Kanda…"

He looked down at her and she thought his eyes held a pained look in them.

"Sit down," she said, patting the empty space beside her.

He surprisingly complied without a fuss and leaned his elbows on his knees, staring ahead.

"Why are you making such a big deal about this? I mean, I've only known you a few months, but we've been on enough missions for me to understand you pretty well. And this is not like you."

He was silent for a long time. Finally, in a controlled voice he told her his feelings.

"When Teidoll sent me back here to escort you to Headquarters, I resented you for it. I didn't want to leave my mission with him, I didn't want to train you, and I certainly didn't want to go on beginner's missions with you. But you showed a lot of progress and I forgot that you were still new to this. Teidoll and Kamui gave me the responsibility of protecting you because of your parasitic Innocence. And yesterday I managed to injure you worse than you've ever been injured on a mission – all because I wasn't paying attention to you."

She blinked at him. She'd never heard him say so much at one time. But she was still anxious to alleviate his concern.

"Kanda, I'm sorry that you had to leave Teidoll because of me," she began.

"That's not even a concern anymore," he interjected.

"Oh…well, about the thing yesterday. Look, I've been a martial artist for years – I've been injured plenty of times. I like to train with you _because _you're tough on me. I knew better than to let my guard down. It was stupid of me. So please, you don't have to be so nice to me because you're concerned. I mean, you're not even this nice to Lenalee, and I always thought you _liked _her."

He quirked an eyebrow and looked at her from the corner of his eye, "How so?"

"You know what I mean."

He turned back to the door, staring at it intently.

"Sorry, it's none of my business," she turned her face the other way – embarrassed that she had made him uncomfortable.

"I thought I did a long time ago," he said suddenly, surprising her greatly. "But when Allen and Lavi came, I never felt jealous of them. I care about her very much, but I don't love her in that way."

"So, you're really just being nice cause you feel like you hurt me instead of protecting me, despite the fact that I've never been hurt on a mission because _you _were there?" she asked pointedly.

"Have you even considered _where _I kicked you?" he asked suddenly.

She frowned, confused about where he was going with this, "Um, in the gut? Where you usually kick me when you're trying to get me off you?"

She gaped at him when his cheeks colored a little, "Yes, but I've never kicked you so hard or so low. I could have easily caused permanent damage to your…organs."

"You mean my intestines? Well, I ate fine yesterday – and I don't feel sick, just bruised."

"No, not that…." he seemed to have lost his nerve.

Immediately, she understood, "You're afraid you rendered me barren."

He looked at her slowly, then nodded. She would have laughed if he didn't look so serious. She recalled that she had told him a week ago on a mission that her dream, when the war was over, was to start a family and have a bunch of kids. And now he was afraid he'd just ended that dream for her.

"Kanda…the fact that you even considered that means a lot to me. But honestly, you shouldn't worry about it."

He looked unconvinced.

"You wanna know the best thing about being a girl," she asked, grinning at him. He looked extremely confused, but allowed her to continue. "We carry our essentials on the _inside_…they're safer than yours."

After a long moment of not being able to answer that, he finally just nodded.

"No worries, okay?"

He sighed, but nodded again.

"Hey, have you eaten?" she asked.

"No, not yet…I'm on my way now. Would you like me to bring you lunch?"

She smiled, "No, but if you wait for me to change, I'll join you. If you don't mind," she added hastily.

"I don't," he replied.

He got up and left her alone as she pulled on her uniform, slightly modified. She usually wore short shirts that left her midsection uncovered, but she certainly didn't want to advertise her bruise. She entered the hallway, finding Kanda leaning against the wall outside her door with his arms crossed. They walked down to the dining hall, got their meals from Jerry and sat down. Ayame was aware of the glances they were getting from the Finders, science personnel, and other Exorcists. Lenalee walked into the cafeteria with Lavi, Allen and Krory and started to walk their way, but Lavi abruptly took her arm and steered her to a bench somewhere behind them. One look at Kanda's face told her why. He looked livid, but she had no idea what about. She decided to just eat her food and not ask questions.

Meanwhile, behind them, Lenalee was questioning Lavi about their seating arrangements.

"Lena, when's the last time you saw Kanda eating with a girl…other than you?"

"Um…"

"Try 'never'. This is huge – I say we observe carefully and maybe join them for dessert."

"Lavi," she protested. "Nothing's going on – Aya's like a sister to me. She would have told me if they were in a relationship."

"Ah, but perhaps this is the beginning of such a venture," he countered.

"I really don't see how _any _woman could put up with him, but perhaps I'm not one to talk," Krory added, with Allen nodding his head vigorously.

"Oh, I don't know about that," Lenalee defended. "He may be short-tempered, but Kanda's a good man."

"Well, I for one want to see how this one plays out, 'cause I've known Aya to be just as abrasive as him when she wants to be."

"That's true," Allen agreed. "Maybe it'll be good for him."

"You gonna put it in unrecorded history, Lavi?" Lenalee teased.

"It belongs there, that's for sure," he said, grinning.

They laughed, peeping over their shoulders at Kanda and Ayame. After about twenty minutes of careful observation, they concluded that if the two were indeed a couple, they were extremely dull. Well, that was Lavi's conclusion anyway…Lenalee still insisted nothing was going on. When they finished their meal, the three Exorcists joined Kanda and Ayame at their table.

"Hey guys," Ayame greeting them cheerfully. Kanda managed a grunt of acknowledgement.

"Hey, we missed you at the meeting last night," Lavi said to her.

"Oh," she glanced nervously at Kanda, unsure of what he had told them. "I wasn't feeling so well, so I took a nap and accidentally slept through the meeting."

"Oh yeah? What…did you get worn out after _training_," Lavi asked deviously.

Kanda gave him a warning look, but the others didn't seem to catch on to the innuendo.

"Uh, yeah – I just had a stomach ache was all – no biggie. So are you guys gonna head out to find Cross soon?"

"Yeah, we're leaving early next week to begin the search. India was his last known location, so we'll start there," Lenalee said.

Allen looked less than thrilled about this. He tended to slip into a depression every time the General was brought up, so Ayame decided to change the topic quickly.

"I see. Did Kamui mention any news from Teidoll?"

"Not at the meeting. Did you hear anything Yu?" Lavi asked.

"I'm going to nail your tongue to this table with a fork if you call me that again," he replied menacingly. "But no – I haven't heard anything."

"We're heading to the library now for some research project Kamui put us on," Krory announced; Kanda's temper didn't faze him anymore.

"Oh yeah – I have to go there in the morning to write a report on my Innocence. Reever's got some questions for me about its origins and such, and he wants a written history before he interviews me about it."

"Does he think it's the heart?" Allen asked.

"Well, Hevlaska seems to think that the heart will be a parasitic type, so the science department is focusing on any clues with that type of Innocence first."

"They did the same with me," Allen explained, "But there was nothing definitive."

"Yeah, well I should probably start drafting my report now so I'll have less work tomorrow. We're still having tea tomorrow afternoon, right Lenalee?"

"Oh yes! I'll meet you in town at 2:30."

"Sounds great," she said, getting up with hers and Kanda's tray.

He frowned and tried to take it back from her, but she playfully kicked him in the shin.

"No, you don't need any more food – you'll get fat."

He growled at her, "I can take care of my own damn tray."

"Nope," she said, dancing out of his way and putting the trays where they belonged.

He glared at her, but let the matter drop when he saw Lavi smirking at him. The five of them parted company; Kanda told Ayame he'd catch her tomorrow before she left for the afternoon.

* * *

The next day, Ayame spent most of the morning writing, then ventured to the library for some research concordances. She was standing near the front of the racks, thumbing through a data composition of parasite type Innocence, when the door creaked open. Kanda approached her quietly, peering over her shoulder at the book.

"I think I've got everything I need here," she stated. "I'll probably take this one out and just finish the rest in my room."

"Hn," was his only reply.

She closed the book and turned to face him. The space between the stacks was small, and she found herself backing up a little to look up at him. Ayame was fairly tall, but Kanda still stood several inches above her, and with him this close, she felt rather small.

"How does it feel?" he asked.

"It's fine…very little pain this morning," she said.

He instinctively reached for her shirt, but she quickly swatted his hand away.

"Are you nuts? We're in front of the door…what if someone sees you? I mean, _Lavi _could walk in here and we'd be screwed for life!"

He sighed, but instead of letting it go, he took her by the hand and led her to the back of the stacks. He released her at the very end of one bookshelf facing her again, "Happy?"

"You're still worried about it?" she asked.

"I'll worry less when it fades – until then, no belly shirts," he warned.

"Duh," she said as he pulled at the material, running cool fingers over the discolored flesh.

She shivered a little at his touch.

"I think you should get a scan," he said.

"Oh, you're still going on about that. Look, if I have it scanned, then they'll ask questions. I don't want to lie."

"Then how will you know?"

Ayame was certain he wouldn't let this go until she gave him some assurance that she was fine. She tried to think of something she could tell him to placate him, blushing furiously when a thought occurred to her. Well, better than nothing…

"Kanda…listen. There is a quick to know for sure without scanning," she ventured.

He furrowed his eyebrows, "How?"

"Well, uh…you know – my period is due next week. So, if it doesn't come, then we'll know for sure," she said shyly.

He looked slightly uncomfortable at this topic, but nodded his understanding, "Makes sense."

"But I'm sure it's fine, okay?"

He regarded her for a long time, then dipped his head once. She smiled at him, hazarding to place her hand on his upper arm, squeezing it reassuringly. She felt his muscle quiver under her touch, but instead of pulling back, he raised his hand to her waist , guiding her in front of him and down the row.

"I'll see you tonight," he said, reaching around her to open the door.

"Okay, see you then."

He turned down the hall, and she stood for a moment watching his retreating figure. The flesh on her hip still tingled from his lingering touch. Being a sparing partner with him meant she was no stranger to contact with him. She knew what his calloused hands felt like when they blocked her attacks. She knew the power that surged through his legs when he would launch a barrage of kicks at her. She was well acquainted with the burden his shoulders could bear when he would lift her with no assisting momentum and throw her on the mats. But these gentle ministrations were a completely different feeling altogether. He hated any form of affection as a rule, but these last three days were showing a whole new side to what he would tolerate…much less what he would initiate. She shook her head – she couldn't let this distract her. She went back to finish her report and get dressed for going out.

* * *

Ayame sat at her favorite little café in town, waiting for Lenalee to join her. A male waiter approached her, offering her a beverage. She declined, preferring to wait for her friend and then order. He smiled a gorgeous smile at her, then left. She briefly wondered what Kanda's smile would look like…then mentally slapped herself. She had to stop making everything in her life relate to him. It was a sunny day – a welcome reprieve from the dark stone halls of HQ. She smoothed out a wrinkle in her sundress, the only one she owned. She wondered if maybe she should wear it to dinner so Kan – oh for crying out loud!

"Hey Aya."

"What's up, girl?"

"Uh…not much," Lenalee replied, sitting down.

For some reason, Ayame thought she looked agitated. The waiter returned and they ordered.

"So what's new?" Lenalee asked.

"Not much; I think your brother has a mission for me in Romania – at least, that's what Reever hinted at. I asked if I could take Krory with me since he looks the part – but no such luck," she said, laughing. "He might give me Kanda if Teidoll doesn't request him.

"Does that make you happy?"

"Uh…yeah, I guess. I mean, Kanda and I work well together," she said slowly.

"Is there something you want to tell me," Lena asked.

"Um…like what?" Now Ayame was really confused.

"Aya…Allen was in the library this morning," she paused, letting that sink in.

"Huh? Oh, I understand," Ayame tried to recap what was said, but just assumed that he heard everything. "Well, if you're worried, you shouldn't be. I mean, first of all, it wasn't Kanda's fault at all. I dropped my guard and he just followed through – instinct, ya know?"

"Instinct? He should have been able to control himself."

"Well, normally yes – but he was upset and it just happened. It didn't really hurt that much anyway," she said, trying to downplay the whole incident.

"Eww, I don't need to know that much!"

Ayame looked at her curiously, but continued, "Anyways, it's fine now. He was really sweet afterwards too. He carried me back to my room and brought me dinner in bed."

Lenalee's face softened a bit at this, "Really? So, he's still acting this way around you now?"

"Yeah…weird huh? He's got this new fetish though with touching my stomach – I think he's worried he caused permanent damage."

Lenalee's expression darkened again, "Geez Ayame! He's worried about _permanent damage_! What kind of lover is he?!"

Ayame blinked, "Wait…what?"

"I thought he wanted you to get a scan because he thought you were pregnant – not because he hurt you!"

"Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah….woah. What are you talking about?" she half shouted, attracting the attention of some other patrons.

"What are _you _talking about?"

"I'm talking about Kanda kicking me in the stomach during a training session. What did Allen hear anyway?"

Lenalee paused, rearranging the facts in her head. Suddenly, her mouth made a little "o" and she looked back at Ayame.

"Well, he heard Kanda ask you to get scanned and then you told him something like 'if I miss my period, we'll know for sure'. So naturally, he assumed you thought you were pregnant and came to me ask about your relationship. I told him you guys weren't together, but I asked him why he thought so. He didn't want to say at first – but I finally got it out of him. I assumed that you were pregnant too. So I had to know the truth Aya. I'm sorry for assuming that you were sleeping with Kanda."

"No, it's okay. I probably would have thought the same thing. But Lena…please tell me that Allen only told you."

"Oh yes…just me. I told him not to tell anyone else."

"Ah…good."

"So tell me everything that's been going on," Lenalee prompted, suddenly very giddy.

Ayame explained everything that had happened and Kanda's bizarre behavior. She couldn't help but get kind of excited as she told her friend all the details. Somehow, telling another girl about it made it seem more real to her.

"Well, it seems obvious to me that he regards you as more than a friend. I mean, I'm probably his closest friend except for Teidoll – and that's totally different – and he's never been so attentive with me."

"I'm sorry."

Lenalee laughed, "I wasn't complaining. Besides, between Allen and Lavi, I don't think I can stand any more attention."

"Ah, so how are things going with _your _boy issues?" Ayame teased.

"I'd say Lavi's gonna move first, which is fine by me. I love Allen, but he's a little brother to me. I thought there may have been more there but…"

"Lavi changed your mind."

"Exactly. So now I'm just waiting to see if he's ever going to decide his feelings."

"Maybe he just needs some encouraging."

"Perhaps. But I don't want to drag him kicking and screaming into a relationship."

"Trust me, I don't think he'll be too resistant," Ayame said, laughing.

Lavi had once confided in her that he was in love with Lenalee, but was having a hard time reconciling his feelings with his commitment to be a Bookman. Technically, he was supposed to remain unattached from others so that he could record history as an unbiased observer. But it seemed that his heart was not going to let him make that decision lightly.

"Don't worry about Lavi – I know he loves you – he'll follow his heart," she encouraged.

"Thanks Aya."

The two girls talked for a long time, then returned to HQ to do some more "girlie" things that they rarely got to do – like paint their nails whilst eating chocolate and talking some more about boys. Lenalee went to go get Allen and they explained the conversation in the library to him. He apologized for his misunderstanding, but Ayame assured him it was fine and totally understandable. After he left, the girls ended their date and went about their evening.

Ayame did some paperwork and debated about whether or not to tell Kanda. At first she thought it best to let sleeping dogs lie, but if someone talked to him about her injury, which only the two of them were supposed to know about, he should probably have a heads up. With that in mind, she ventured to his room and knocked on the door. There was a short pause, then she heard his deep voice call out, "Who is it?"

"It's me," she called. "I just needed to tell you something."

"Come in," he invited.

She opened the door, stepping into the sparsely furnished room. It had only a bed against the side wall, and a small table supporting a lotus flower floating beneath a glass dome. It suddenly occurred to her what the sweet fragrance she could not identify on him was – lotus. The flower peaked her curiosity, but she decided not to ask him now. He lay on his bed with one leg balanced across his other knee, reading an old leather-bound book. She paused, then locked the door behind her with a smirk.

He looked up from his book, raising an eyebrow, "Are you going to seduce me?"

She smiled coyly at him, then slid onto the bed in front of him crossing her arms over his propped-up leg.

"That depends; are you seducible?"

He just stared at her, unsure of how to respond, but eyeing her sundress with interest. She giggled at his slightly wary expression.

"You should see your face," she laughed. "No, I locked the door to set up a road block should you take what I'm about to say the wrong way."

"That's an interesting way to start a conversation."

"Well, it's funny…kinda," she began, still leaning on his leg. "You see…Allen was actually in the library this morning."

He immediately grit his teeth together, but didn't move.

She proceeded cautiously, "…and well, you see – given the content of our conversation – he kind of assumed that uh…" she wasn't sure how to say this without setting him off.

"He thought you were pregnant," he finished for her.

"Uh, yeah – how did you know?"

"It wasn't hard to figure out – I suppose that the subject matter would suggest that."

Ayame was relieved – he seemed to be taking this well, "Right, totally understandable, huh?"

His expression remained rather cold though, and he made no effort to agree with her.

"So, you're not mad at Allen? You're not going to beat him up?"

"Is that why you're pinning my legs down?"

"Maybe."

"I'm not angry that he made the assumption – I'm upset that he asked you about it."

"Oh, actually he didn't…he asked Lenalee…" she proceeded to tell him the whole story.

His mood didn't brighten any after hearing it all; if anything, he looked even more pissed.

"There's no need to be angry – it was just a misunderstanding is all."

"It was none of his business to begin with – he shouldn't have involved Lenalee."

"I understand, but still – don't do anything to him okay? Please Kanda…promise?"

"Fine," he answered after a moment.

She was about to take her weight off his leg – finally assured that he wouldn't run off to kill Allen – but he suddenly spoke.

"Does it bother you?"

She looked confused, "What?"

"That Lenalee thought we were in a relationship."

"No…not that we were in a relationship. But I do wish that she would trust me to tell her. Especially if we were, you know…doing that. Wait no…that sounded weird. I wouldn't tell her what we were doing - I would just tell her that we were together," she flushed brilliant red and buried her face in her arms.

"You must find the idea of having sex with me repulsive," he said.

Her head snapped up and she stared at him intently, but he only gazed steadily back at her.

"I didn't say that," she said finally.

He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, prompting her to continue.

"I mean, I doubt you'd find many girls in the Order who would find the idea of making love to you repulsive…despite your inherent personality defects," she added with a nervous laugh.

"I doubt that."

"Clearly you've never eavesdropped on the women's locker room," she said, glad the conversation was not centered on her now.

"You misunderstand," he said, reaching for her wrist. He dropped the leg she was leaning on and pulled her body onto his in a sudden, fluid movement. He reached with his other hand, tangling it in her hair and pulling her face alongside his. Her body trembled at his actions, painfully aware of how close they were. His voice was low when he spoke again.

"It's quite possible there are some who would have sex with me," he paused, then whispered, "But a woman desiring to make love to me is a different matter entirely."

She was very still for a long moment, almost not daring to breathe. She knew he was turning it back to her. Was he asking if she desired him? Was that what he wanted or would he reject her as a partner if she hinted she did want him? She didn't know how to answer him at all – she was backed in a corner. She dipped her head and rested it on his shoulder, trying to calm her heartbeat.

"You're right," she said finally. "It is different. But you know…a woman who would desire you as a true lover instead of just a sex partner would probably want a lasting relationship with you. She would want assurance that you felt the same way before she gave herself to you."

There. She had told him exactly how she felt without actually saying it…but he knew. He still held her wrist lightly in his left hand; he slid his fingers up her arm and across her back until his hand rested against the small of her back. He traced circles across the material lazily, seemingly content to hold her for a while. She kept her face buried in his shoulder, fisting her hand into his shirt.

"That is how I would know she loved me," he said finally, in a low, quiet voice.

"Kanda," she whispered his name.

She didn't want an answer, she just needed to say his name out loud. He continued to massage her back, his movements slowing even more. She lay there, half dazed by his abrupt change in attitude. She could not believe where this conversation had just gone. And what did it really mean? Did he truly love her? If so, was she ready for a relationship? A few hours ago, it seemed like a nice thought, but now confronted with the idea – this was too overwhelming.

"Kanda," she said his name again.

He released his hold on her and she pushed herself up and off him awkwardly. He sat up and drew his knees up once more, setting a comfortable, non-threatening barrier between them. She rested a hand on his knee, searching his face for some kind of helpful expression. His face was stoic as ever, but his eyes were different – they looked larger…softer.

"I don't think I'm ready for this…whatever this is. I just…" her voice trailed off.

He nodded his understanding; not showing any signs of offence or even surprise.

"I…I have to go," she all but whispered.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said, his voice thick and deep.

"Yes."

She slipped off the bed and went to the door. She stopped with her hand on the knob, turning to cast a lingering look at him. She wanted to say more to him, but she could not find the words. He dipped his head in acknowledgment and she knew it was his way of saying, 'it's okay'. She went back to her room that night with a lot on her mind…and her heart. 

**Kanda: *girly voice* '…that is how I would know she loved me'. You make me sick.**

**K.K.: Listen a-hole…I'm giving you an honorable love story here because I wouldn't do this for you if you were the kind of guy just looking to get laid – okay?**

**Kanda: I'm not looking to get laid **_**or **_**fall in love you idiot! I don't have time for this sort of thing.**

**K.K.: Don't knock it till you've tried it. **

**Kanda: You know…I don't get it. First she likes me, then I sort of tell her – in the story, 'cause this is totally fictional – that I want her, and suddenly she's got cold feet! What the hell…women are so fickle. **

**K.K.: Oh, so you were paying attention. **

**Kanda: NO!**

**K.K.: She **_**does **_**like you. She's just got to sort out her feeling, that's all. Don't be so impatient. You really are a dumbass you know that? And there's no accounting for dumbass…ness.**

**Kanda: ...**

**K.K.: Watch Air Gear in English...you'll get it. So, what did everyone else think? Good, bad...indifferent? **

**Kanda: I'm going with option (b). **

**K.K.: I'm going with option my-foot-up-your-ass...I wasn't asking **_**you**_**. So yes people - reviews...I love em! :D **


	3. The Fates vs Kanda and Ayame

**K.K.: So I'm back y'all. I apologize for my long absence…I've been busy conquering the world.**

**Kanda: You mean you've been busy trying to trick some poor idiot into marrying you.**

**K.K.: Hey! He's not an idiot and it worked, so shuttie. I **_**am **_**getting married and so are you if I have anything to say about it.**

**Kanda:…you wouldn't.**

**K.K.: Try me. But don't worry, I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to get used to the idea. It's always better not to rush into these things. Besides…I can't ruin the ending for our readers.**

**Kanda: I am not getting married! I would sooner nail my tongue to table every morning at breakfast.**

**K.K.: I've said it once and I'll say it again – you will feel differently when I'm done. **

**Kanda: Che.**

**K.K.: Just keep your "che's" to a minimum and read.**

**Kanda: I can't, I've suddenly become blind.**

**K.K.: Fine, I'll read it to you. **

**Kanda: Damn.**

Fire and Ice

The Fates vs. Kanda and Ayame

Ayame didn't have much time to contemplate her situation with Kanda, because the very next day she was put on assignment with him to Romania. They were packed and standing at the train station within an hour. Ayame glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as they boarded the train. It would be a two hour journey to get where they were going and she was feeling extremely awkward. She didn't know what to say to him – and for his part, he hadn't been exactly talkative. But that was Kanda for you. He had more or less made his intentions known and now the ball was in her court. He would remain silent on the subject until she brought it back up. Which gave her some time to think about her feelings. They spent a while on the train reviewing the data collected for their mission. From the looks of it – it would be a cut and dry akuma extermination – routine for them. Ayame put their files back up in the overhead compartment of their sleeper car room. She told Kanda she was tired and wanted to take a nap. He pulled the shade down for her and then returned to his bench opposite her, crossing his arms and lowering his head. Maybe he would nap too. Ayame wound up sleeping till almost nightfall. She awoke to a sudden lurch from the train, followed by something hitting the engine, causing the locomotive to come to a grinding halt. She was thrown from the bench, but Kanda sprang forward and caught her before she hit the floor. He immediately smashed out their window and swung himself up onto the roof. Ayame climbed up after him, ready for anything. Three akuma floated in formation ahead of them at the front of the train – two level ones and a level two.

"You take the small fry, I'll take the Two," Kanda commanded.

A little begrudgingly, Aya activated her Innocence and flung herself into the fray. One of the benefits of her parasite type Innocence was that it allowed her to adjust the length of her blades at will. She used that feature now to extend the blade along the front of her arm, curving it into a wicked looking scythe. She leapt up to engage the first akuma, twisting to avoid fire from it. With one downward sweep, she cleaved the head in two – then used it to spring-board toward the other before it exploded. She extended the blade on her left arm forward as well, then threw herself into a rapid rotation, effectively passing through the next akuma like a buzz-saw. By the time she landed, Kanda had polished off the Level Two. Passengers from the train were filing out now; some had minor injuries. The fire on the train was isolated to the engine now for the time being, so none were in any further danger.

"We should get out of here before we attract any more akuma."

"Let's go," he agreed, darting into the forest. Ayame followed him, stopping briefly to grab two blankets that had been thrown clear of the wreckage. Those would come in handy if the temperatures dropped that night. She sprinted to keep up with Kanda's pace, tearing through the woods.

"Hey slow down! We're not going to run all the way to the nearest town are we?" she panted.

"The nearest town is thirty miles away. We'll put some distance in between us and the wreckage, then camp for the night," he said, hurdling a log.

"Do you think it's really okay to leave our cases back there?"

"I'm less worried about that, and more concerned with that stunt you pulled back there," he growled.

She put on a burst of speed to come up alongside him, "What are you talking about?"

"Your rapid-rotation maneuver – I don't want to ever see that again. Your left yourself wide open to enemy fire and you were blind to counterattack."

"Hey, it worked didn't it?" she shot back, a little miffed.

"This time – you were lucky."

"Where do you get off telling me which techniques I can and can't use?" she asked, raising her voice.

"When I was put in charge of training you! This is war, not martial arts. When you use showy techniques, you put yourself and your comrades in danger. So kill the habit now."

"First of all, I'm not in-training anymore. You may be my superior – but I made a judgment call back there and took the risk – and it panned out. End of story."

"And I'm telling you that whether or not you escaped with your life, it was still the wrong call."

"But-"

Kanda plowed through a clearing, abruptly turning into her path. She nearly ran into him, but he grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"I'm not bringing you back home in a body bag…understood?" he ground out between clenched teeth. "We'll camp here tonight. Stay here, I'm going to get us some food."

She just stood staring after him as he left. She had nothing to say back to him – and it frustrated her even more. She knew he was right – but she did not like to be dictated to. Her face was red from running and embarrassment. She was hot and sweating. It dawned on her that they had passed a creek on the way here. She decided to go back and take a quick dip to cool off and wash herself. It would take him a while to find food , and she would be back by then. She found the stream quickly, and was surprised to see a small waterfall that she had not noticed before emptying into a shallow pool. Perfect. She slipped her clothes off and tip-toed into the cold water. It was so refreshing. She stood directly under the falls, letting it wash over her hair and face. This was just what she needed; she almost forgot she was mad at Kanda.

Meanwhile, Kanda came back to their campsite with two freshly slain rabbits, only to find it empty. He assumed she had just gone to relieve herself, and so he busied himself making a fire. After about ten minutes with no sign of her, he went to go find her. He searched the area for her tracks and found them heading the way they had come…odd. He called her several times with no answer. He heard the sound of rushing water and ran towards it, calling her name. He soon found the source of the water…and Ayame.

Ayame pulled her head out from under the water, and heard her name being called. She instinctively turned toward the sound…only to watch Kanda burst into the clearing and come to a screeching halt when he caught sight of _her_. For an extremely long moment, they just stared at each other. Kanda made a valiant effort to keep his eyes on her face, but it didn't really matter since her image was burned into his brain the moment her saw her. Finally, she recovered enough to speak…sort of.

"You…"

He seemed to snap out of a trance, "Don't call me by that name," he replied automatically.

"No, not Yuu – you…Y – O – U. What are you doing?"

"I told you to stay at camp!" he yelled back.

"Turn around dumbass!"

He complied, turning away from her, but stayed rooted to the spot.

"Geez Kanda," she muttered, "_Where are my clothes?_" she asked herself, trying to clear her head and remember where she left them.

"Here," he offered, holding out her jacket whilst still facing in the opposite direction.

Ayame sloshed over to him and the rest of her clothes. She snatched the coat roughly from his grasp – simultaneously slipping on a mossy rock. He tried to catch her before she fell, but only managed to drench his pants up to his thighs. She sat there, waist deep in water, her arms wrapped around herself and looking like she was about to cry. He looked to where the rest of her clothes were laying on the rock, but she had managed to splash them as well. Her underwear had missed the brunt of it though, so he slipped those articles into his back pocket discretely. He unbuttoned his long jacket, enter the water behind her to help her up. She seemed to be in a humiliated stupor, thus, she did not protest. He shrugged off his coat, draping it over her shoulders and pulling it tightly around her. He grabbed her soaked clothes, and they went back to camp in silence. She put on her underwear and wrapped up in a blanket while he did the same in silence. They hung their wet clothes on a tree branch in silence. They prepared and cooked the rabbits in silence. They ate the rabbits in silence. They stared at the fire for about twenty minutes in silence. Finally, Ayame mumbled something about going to sleep and walked a little ways away from the fire and curled up in her blanket. She turned her back to Kanda, obviously still mortified about earlier. She wasn't angry at him – it wasn't really his fault. She hadn't figured that he would secure dinner in five minutes flat, but this was Kanda after all. She was so tired of not knowing what to say to him. First, she didn't have anything to say last night in her room – then she clammed up after the stupid waterfall thing. She was frustrated with her own ineptitude and this whole situation. And of course Kanda – who rarely said much to begin with – now had even less to say. She tried to shut her eyes – she would fix things in the morning.

Kanda watcher her out of the corner of his eye as he stoked the fire. She had been lying there for ten minutes, but her breathing showed no signs of falling asleep. He watched her a little closer and noticed her body trembling. Was she crying or just cold? He got up and approached her silently. After a moment, he decided she was cold, and spread his blanket over her before returning to the fire. She remained still for a moment before rolling over to look at him. He continued to stare into the fire, but he could feel her eyes on him. After a while, she got up and put his blanket back around him.

"Keep it," he said quietly.

"No, it's too cold tonight. You can't just sit out here in your underwear…you'll freeze."

"I'll be fine. Just take the blanket and lie down."

"Kanda, I can't sleep knowing you're cold."

"I won't be cold, now take the damn blanket and go lie down," he voice was showing signs of growing impatience.

"Fine, have it your way," she bit back, taking both blankets and lying down where she was before.

"Stubborn woman," he growled under his breath.

She heard him…and replied by throwing his blanket back at him and rolling back over away from him. The next fifteen minutes passed quietly, until the sounds of Ayame's chattering teeth broke the silence. He shook his head at her bullheaded behavior, wondering at his own sanity for falling in love with her. But he had, so without further delay, he walked over to her and picked her up – blanket and all – and brought her back to the fire. He set her down gently, then once again put his blanket over her. Before she could protest, he slid in behind her, pulling the blankets over both of them. He wrapped an arm around her waist, then slipped his other arm beneath her head. Her body went rigid for a moment before she relaxed into his arms, exhaling with a soft sigh. He rested his cheek against her hair, his lips crazing the upper ridge of her ear, "I'm sorry about earlier," he whispered.

"For what?" she asked quietly. "The scolding thing or the naked thing?"

He chuckled, "Both."

She sighed again, "You were right about what I did during the fight. It was reckless and I didn't think it through.

"I just…didn't want…"he seemed to be having difficulty finishing his sentences again.

"You were worried." It wasn't a question. She turned over a little to look at him.

"Yes," he breathed.

"And the other thing…"

He seemed to be at an utter loss for words, probably thanks to mental image that kept looping in his head.

"…was my fault too," she finished. "I didn't think you'd be back from hunting so soon…I planned on being back before you were."

"I should have been more aware of my surroundings," he said.

"Really, 'cause you looked _very _aware of your surroundings when I saw you," she replied, smirking at him.

"Hn. I wasn't aware of anything around me at all. Just you."

His gray eyes held a strange blue light in them as he looked down at her. She met his gaze with glassy green eyes, holding him there. He leaned over her a little further, reaching up to touch her cheek with long, calloused fingers. She closed her eyes, leaning into his hand. His caress abandoned her face to tangle itself into her dark hair – still damp from her bath. His began its slow decent to hers, but his eyes were not asking permission. It didn't matter – Ayame was through running from him. She wanted this more than anything, she told herself as her heart thundered in her chest. He was so close, but time seemed to slow as he closed the distance. Too slow. His breath tickled her nose, his lips hovering just above hers. Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore. She lifted her face the remaining inch and captured his lips. His response was immediate. He pushed her back down into the crook of his arm, tightening his grip on her. His lips were bruising at he pressed her further. He let up for a moment, trailing kisses down her jaw as she caught her breath. But he was by no means finished. Ayame gasped when he returned to her mouth, flicking his tongue over her lower lip, requesting entrance. She slowly parted her lips for him as he ran his tongue over her teeth, slowly rubbing against the top of her tongue. She decided that this wasn't as weird as she had originally thought, sliding her tongue over his and delving into his mouth. He brought his teeth down gently, teasing her tongue and lower lip. He pressed even closer to her, tightening his embrace. The fingers of his left hand brushed against her breast, causing an involuntary shiver to run down her spine. She ran a hand over the smooth skin of his chest, then reached up to untie his hair. It fell, curtaining them both beneath a jet black veil. He pulled back again, burying his face in her throat, kissing her along her collarbone and up the ridge of her neck to her ear, which he contented himself nibbling on. She leaned her head against his arm, giving him better access. She giggled when he nipped her ear, nudging his face away…then lifted hers to bite him back, catching him where his neck met his shoulder. He made a growling sound deep in his throat, staying still as she nipped and nuzzled his neck and throat. She pulled him close to her, clinging to him as thought her very existence depending on him holding her here in this moment. Finally, he rolled over on his back, half turning her with him. She rested her head against his chest, cuddling up close to him. His heart was pounding beneath her ear, his breathing coming a little raggedly. He pulled the twisted blankets back over them, wrapping her up in his arms. She rubbed her cheek against his warm skin, just enjoying the feel of the contact. He combed through her hair with his fingers, resting his chin on her head.

"Kanda?"

"Yes?"

"What am I to you?"

"Do you not know?"

"Say it."

"You're the most precious person in the world to me," he whispered, kissing the top of her head. He paused, as if struggling with his next words, "And I love you."

She lifted her head to look at him, her green eyes large and brilliant, "I love you too."

He smiled at her. It was the first time she had ever seen him genuinely smile…it was beautiful. She leaned up to give him a quick kiss on the lips, then snuggled back down against him. Sleep found them both quickly, content in each other's arms.

**K.K.: Kanda…Kanda? Are you okay? You look, um –**

**Kanda: Like I'm contemplating ritual suicide? How did you know?**

**K.K.: Oh, come now, it's not_ that _bad. So your life got a little fluffier, what's the big deal?**

**Kanda: You ruined me. You absolutely ruined me.**

**K.K.: Yeah but…you're happy now. **

**Kanda: Do I look like I need to be happy?**

**K.K.: In a word…yes.**

**Kanda: *sigh* I just…I don't like it.**

**K.K.: I think you do and you don't want to admit it. Classic repression. How was your relationship with your mom? **

**Kanda: *glare***

**K.K.: That's okay, we can come back to that question. Okay, peoples…as Kanda and I begin to explore the inner workings of his mind and try to decipher why he's so freaking messed up…let me know what you think of our little story here. Reviews are welcome. Again, sorry for the wait – I promise to stay on top of these now. **


	4. A Little Introspection

**K.K.: Well, I'm back after another long hiatus…I apologize for the wait – again.**

**Kanda: Here's an idea, why don't you just STOP WRITING and never pick up this sorry piece of FICTION again.**

**K.K.: Simmer, Water Lily.**

**Kanda: Eh?**

**K.K.: You know, you have that **_**thing **_**with those flowers.**

**Kanda: It's a Lotus, and I don't have a "thing" for any plants.**

**K.K.: Right, so anyway – this is kind of a segue chapter. I have recently decided to take this story in a completely different direction that I had originally planned. From here, things are going to pick up in speed and the plot is going to develop rather rapidly. **

**Kanda: Wait…are you saying things haven't been going fast before? You took me from zero to **_**making out **_**in like three days!**

**K.K.: Yeah well you're going to go from making out to other things that start with the letter M very shortly.**

**Kanda: Dare I ask? Does it also start with the word "making"? **

**K.K.: Maybe. Mayhap. Many possibilities.**

**Kanda: Enough with the M's, I get it. **

**K.K.: Marvelous, now let's get on with the story!**

**Kanda: For the love of…**

Fire and Ice

A Little Introspection

The next day, Ayame woke to both blankets being pulled away from her body. She shivered against the brisk morning air, clutching for her lost warmth. She cracked an eye open to behold Kanda, who had rolled onto his side, taking their covers with him. Narrowing her eyes, she reached over and took the top blanket off, pulling his off as well. He rolled onto his back again, seemingly still asleep. When he didn't stir again at the loss of warmth, she allowed her gaze to drift over his finely sculpted body - his round, muscular, shoulders, his broad chest and chiseled stomach, his thickly corded thighs. She felt a heat rise from her cheeks to the tips of her ears as her eyes lingered on him.

"Do you like what you see?" he asked suddenly, his eyes still closed.

She started at the sound of his voice breaking the still morning air, but recovered quickly.

"Maybe," she said, tossing her loose hair over her shoulder as she sat up a little.

He opened his eyes and turned his face towards her, his gaze roaming over her in turn. Her nerve suddenly gone, she fought back the blush that had already begun, to no avail. He slid closer to her, absentmindedly scratching his upper thigh, over the only material covering his body. Attracted by the motion, Ayame glanced down at his black under-shorts, coloring even more at what she saw.

"What?"

Her eyes snapped back up, "Nothing."

Ayame was young and fairly innocent to the finer points of manhood. She of course knew the basics, but she had never been with a man – and therefore knew very little about their anatomies. She did not know why Kanda's boxers looked as though they no longer fit him properly, and she certainly wasn't going to let on that she had noticed in the first place. Unfortunately, he already noticed her brief glance and followed it. He apparently had not been aware of his…condition…for he quickly rolled over on stomach.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"For what?" she asked, completely confused.

"It's not because of you – just a morning thing," he quickly explained.

"What's a morning thing?"

"Never mind."

"I'm lost."

"Good."

"Kanda -"

"I'm not aroused, I just need to pee okay? You killed it anyways," he growled.

"Okay, so go pee…but I still don't know what you're talking about," she mumbled.

He looked at her quizzically, as if trying to decide if she was serious.

"Look, I don't know about guys okay?" she admitted, thoroughly embarrassed now. "I never had a boyfriend and the old man at the dojo never talked to me about stuff. A ten year old orphan being raised in a martial arts camp by a bunch of men – it's not like I could get a real in depth sex education. There was a cook though, a nice lady with a bunch of kids – she kind of explained the basics to me. That's it though."

Kanda slowly sat up and knelt in front of her, touching her cheek softly, "That is nothing to be embarrassed about, Aya. I'm kind of glad you don't know a lot…there are some things I would rather teach you on my own anyway."

Ayame flushed again, but looked at him with trusting eyes, "I will make a good pupil," she suggested coyly.

His eyes darkened at her tone, but he held her chin firmly, "We have all the time we need to explore each other, but I'm not ready to take your innocence away just yet."

"I didn't mean right now!" she defended.

"I know – but both of us are new to being in a close relationship like this, and I don't want to rush things."

"Kind of late for that, don't you think? Two days ago, I didn't even think of you in a romantic way."

"Yeah well, just because this started quickly, doesn't mean it has to continue that way."

"I know. I don't want to rush either," she soothed.

"Good. Let's eat breakfast and get to the next town. We need to contact HQ and begin our journey again, we've lost a lot of time."

Ayame mentally shook herself, "Okay…as long as we're not having rabbits again for breakfast."

"How does fish sound?"

"Fish I can do. I'll see if I can find something to go with it."

"I spotted a berry patch that way," he offered, pointing in the direction he had gone to hunt last night.

"Okay, I'll be back," she said, slipping on her dried clothes and grabbing one of the blankets to carry her spoils in.

She ventured deeper into the woods, and after a brief search, found the berries he had mentioned. They were beautifully ripened raspberries, sweet and tart at the same time. She picked those and a handful of edible mushrooms that were obligingly growing nearby at the roots of a mighty spruce tree. She gathered them up in the blanket and made her way back to the clearing, only to find Kanda roasting two fat perch on stakes.

"Good grief, what are you? Mr. King of the Great Outdoors?"

"They're fish – they are not hard to outwit," he countered, poking the smaller of the two. "This one's done, you want it?"

"Yes! Oh thank you, I am so hungry! Here, look what I got," she said, spreading out the blanket.

"Good, this should keep us going till we reach the next town."

"Kanda?"

"Hn?"

"Do you think the Akuma from yesterday have anything to do with the ones we're hunting in Romania?"

"I doubt it, we're still too far away for a connection to be likely. But I am curious about why they attacked the train – they shouldn't have been able to track our Innocence, especially at that speed.

"Maybe the Level Two had an enhanced sensory ability."

"It's possible."

"Well, they attacked us – we kicked their asses – the end. We'll just report our situation to HQ as soon as we can reach a phone."

"Hn."

"Hey, we should tell Komui that pairing us together as punishment won't work anymore."

"Che. You thought he was _punishing _you? He did it precisely because he wanted us to like each other – and you needed the training."

"Really? He actually wanted us to get along?"

"Not exactly. Teidoll and Komui have been plotting for us to fall in love and get married by fall," Kanda said with a sneer.

"Are you being serious?"

"Yes. That's what they do – mess with people's lives. It sickens me."

"And yet…it worked."

"_We_ had nothing to do with them."

"You're probably right – we would have found each other even if they weren't tweaking us behind the scenes."

"Yeah," he agreed.

Ayame starting giggling suddenly around a mouthful of fish.

"What?" he asked.

"If someone had told me last week that you and I would even entertain the idea of becoming a couple, I would have laughed in their face."

"I would have punched them in their face. It's almost scary how fast things can change," he added, his voice low and thoughtful. He fixed his piercing eyes on her.

"What?" she asked, coloring under his gaze.

He merely shook his head, "Nothing."

He suddenly leaned in and kissed her deeply, surprising her. She responded soon enough though. It would have been a more pleasant kiss perhaps, had they not just been eating fish – but neither one seemed to care. He broke away from her slowly, nipping at her lower lip and enjoying the sublime expression on her face.

"We should go now," a hint of regret audible in his tone.

She sighed, but nodded in agreement, "Yes, it will be better to cover the distance as soon as possible."

Kanda stood and smothered the fire – leaving their blankets there. They set out at an even pace, running steadily for over an hour. Their journey was slowed by some mountainous terrain that they decided to go over rather than around. The climbing added some hours to their trip, but not as much as it would have been had they gone the long way round. Even with the delay, they reached the nearest town by three in the afternoon. It was a small fishing village, positioned on the banks of a massive interior lake, said the hold the tastiest freshwater fish in the country. From there, they would be able to secure transportation to the nearest train station. They found that it was another twenty miles to the nearest town with a railway, so they caught a ride with a merchant heading there. At about six in the evening they arrived, and got an inn. Ayame decided to get one room because they were short on money and still needed to make the train fare. Kanda took the opportunity to call into HQ to inform them of their progress. From where Ayame stood at the desk a little ways away, Komui sounded delighted. Kanda hung up and joined her to go find their room.

"Why was Komui so happy" she asked.

"Because we spent a night together in woods, why do you think? He's probably going to drag Lenalee out shopping with him for newborn clothes," he growled.

Ayame giggled, "Well if he liked that, I'm sure he'll _love _that we only enough money for one inn room. Did you ask him to wire some more ahead of us to Romania?"

"Yes, here's the bank and account number," he said, handing her a slip of paper.

She pocketed it and unlocked their room, stepping into the modest accommodations. There was a bed, a chair, a tiny dresser, and a door to a small bathroom and shower. Ayame immediately flung herself on the bed, pleasantly surprised that it was quite comfortable. Kanda showered quickly and returned to the bedroom, only to find her fast asleep curled up on the bed. He pulled the blankets over her; then left to go see about food. He came back shortly with soup and bread, and two glasses of cold milk, courtesy of the innkeeper's wife. When he entered the room again, he found Ayame sitting up in bed, looking confused and a little nervous.

"What's wrong?" he queried.

"Oh nothing," she replied, obviously relieved to see him. "I just woke up, and didn't remember where I was right away."

He walked to the bed and kissed her forehead, placing the dinner tray on her lap, "Eat, you'll feel better."

"Thanks hun, I'm starved."

He smirked at the adage – that was going to take some getting used to. But then again, he had adapted to going from a man who referred to do everything alone to someone who had let a woman into his heart in about the time span of a week. He thought about it seriously for a moment, realizing for the first time that perhaps their relationship hadn't progressed as suddenly as he had first thought. He realized that the past several months of training with her had softened his prickly nature quite a lot. Her influence had begun to change him in small ways from the first few weeks they had spent together. He was still the same Kanda, but on the inside, and sometimes just with her – he was becoming a kinder person. Just when had she begun to melt the ice that he had encased his heart in? He looked at her hungrily slurping her soup and a smile ghosted across his lips. Probably from the first moment she had stood up to him on their way back to HQ after they picked her up. He couldn't even remember how he had offended her – probably just through his cold demeanor – but she had given him what for right there. It had angered him to no end at the time, even though Tiedoll looked like he was going to have a heart attack from laughing fits; but he realized that even then, he had begun to respect her. After all, not just anyone would stand up to him like that – except for the Clown.

Ayame set her empty bowl and drained glass down on the nightstand, "I'm going to take a shower; I feel gross."

"You look gross too," he quipped, dodging the pillow flying at his head immediately proceeding that comment.

She slipped into the bathroom and stripped off her dirty sweaty clothes. The warm water felt good as she stepped under the shower, letting it wash over through her hair and over her face. She briefly recalled standing like this just before Kanda saw her at the waterfall, and had to stifle a giggle when she remembered his stunned expression. She never would have imagined him looking at her like that, much less the way his eyes had darkened when he kissed her last night. That kiss had left her breathless, as those same little butterflies in her stomach she had been feeling lately returned – just at the memory of those moments. She had never been in love before, not really. She had a crush on a boy at the dojo once when she was eleven, but that passed as quickly as he had. When she had joined the Black Order, she finally felt as though she had become a part of something much larger than herself. She had trained hard and grown into an excellent martial artist; however, her ambitions had never stretched beyond the dojo. That little circle of people had been the confines of her life – nothing outside of it had ever tempted her out of it. Until one day, an old man and a young warrior had entered her dojo and given her the opportunity to use her skills for something beyond just teaching them to the next generation.

Now looking back, she wasn't sure if it had been joining the Black Order, or the overwhelming need to beat that pony-tailed bastard that compelled her to leave her life with Gramps. She had excelled in her training with him though, and somewhere along the line they had formed a closer bond. She respected him as soon as she really saw his skills, realizing immediately the time and dedication it had taken to reach the level he was at. She knew she could learn a lot from him, especially in weapons training. And then the time they spent together began to feed their mutual respect and almost affection at times – more on her side than his. She liked to tease him and he returned her little jabs with his own barbs. He was always meaner than she was when he teased her, but she knew that he didn't always mean what he said – he just liked to get a rise out of her. The more she began to realize this, the more she understood that in his own way, he really did like her. Ayame paused as she rinsed shampoo out of her hair. Had he liked her as more than a friend for a while now? Had she? When she teased him without mercy, had she really been flirting with him? She had never thought of it consciously at anything more than just being playful, but maybe she had been harboring feelings for him longer than she had initially thought. When she finally came to grips with the fact that loved him, it had surprised her – but it seemed natural at the same time. Perhaps that was because she had loved him for months and never even truly realized it. Was it possible for the human heart to be so naïve? She dried off and put her underclothes and shirt back on, heading out into the bedroom. Kanda was lying in bed already, the covers drawn up to his waist, leaving his bare chest exposed. Ayame swallowed down the moisture that suddenly filled her mouth – what, was she drooling over him now? _"Get a grip, girl," _she chided herself. Still, he did look awfully scrumptious just lying there, dozing. As sudden impulse compelled her to run up to the bed and jump on it, almost bouncing Kanda's entire body clear off the mattress.

"What the hell?" the startled man yelped, staring at her with wide eyes.

She laughed out loud at his expression, instantly curling up on her side in a submissive posture. His own face was rather mirthless, but he did lie back down with a slightly exacerbated sigh. He cast her a sidelong scowl, which she returned with a cheeky grin.

"Oh c'mon, don't look at me like that – it _was _kind of funny."

"Not really."

"Whatever. Anyways, we should get some good rest tonight – we'll reach our destination tomorrow, right?"

"Yes. It will be evening by the time we get there though, it's going to be a long train ride."

"Oh well, I'm sure we can find _some way _to pass the time," she said, wiggling her eyebrows.

"I'm sure," he replied, reaching over and pulling her up close to him.

She snuggled up against his chest as he slipped his arm beneath her neck and gently stroked her hip and thigh with his other hand. His fingers left little heated trails across her body, even through the thin blankets. She threw an arm around him and traced small patterns across his back with her fingernails. She touched a spot close to his side and was rewarded with a little gasp as his whole body shivered.

"Oh my, did you like that?" she teased.

"Maybe."

She smiled against his skin and nuzzled a little closer. He reached up to smooth her hair down; then rested his cheek against her head.

"Sleep now," he whispered.

"Okay," she replied sleepily.

He lifted his head to place a kiss on her brow before settling back down again. Ayame was asleep before she knew it, feeling safe, secure, and warm in the embrace of his arms. For his part, Kanda felt a swelling of protective energy filling his body. This beautiful person resting in his arms was suddenly the most important thing in the world to him. He would guard her with his own life – without her, there was no point to anything anymore.

**K.K.: Ah, it's nice to have another chapter out, even though all we really accomplished was getting from woods to town and showering.**

**Kanda: Don't forget the lovely conversation about my **_**junk**_**. That was truly delightful.**

**K.K.: Hey, ease up – I flattered your manly ego, did I not. **

**Kanda: I would prefer you leave my ego out of this, as well as any further discussion about my manhood.**

**K.K.: Sorry my dear, you know it's bound to come up again. No pun intended.**

**Kanda: You sicken me.**

**K.K.: Sorry, I had to…my husband's humor is surfacing. **

**Kanda: He's a bad influence on you.**

**K.K.: Hey, at least I didn't come up with any "that's what she said" jokes. **

**Kanda: Yeah, **_**that **_**makes me feel so much better.**

**K.K.: Oh, little author's note here. I added something small to the first chapter that I realize I never clarified before. At the beginning, during Ayame's flashback to how she ended up in the Black Order, she said she had been training with Kanda for weeks and began missions. I meant to add she had been doing missions for several months, but completely forgot put that in. Well, it's in now. You don't have to re-read it…but there's a little extra history in there now. Do enjoy. Reviews are welcome as always! :)  
**


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